“This compatibility is win-win,” MSHA administrator Joseph A. Main said in a press release. “It reduces the burden of maintaining two separate systems for identifying hazardous chemicals and communication of hazards while providing at least the same protections to miners as MSHA’s existing hazcom standard.”

Despite the hazcom compatibility, MSHA warned that some aspects of OSHA’s hazard classification may not be compatible with existing MSHA standards. For example, mine operators must comply with MSHA standards concerning storage requirements for hazardous chemicals, according to the press release.